So as the Republican National Convention unfolds in Cleveland this week—and its Democratic counterpart kicks off next week in Philadelphia—we asked The Daily Beast’s new senior drinks columnist David Wondrich for his favorite spots in both cities where you can get away from the action. He also threw in a bonus pick for the two traditional political seats of power: New York and Washington, DC. If you prefer to watch the spectacle in Cleveland from the safety and comfort of your own home (who could blame you?), take a minute to read Wondrich’s essay on why politicians (of all parties) should be drinking more and should be drinking together. He even included a concoction called the Port Royal Cocktail, from legendary DC watering hole Junkanoo, which calls for rum, white creme de cacao and lime juice. It may just be the reward we all need for getting through the next two weeks. Cheers!
We can’t go to the Third Room of the Congress, but at least we can go to McSorley’s, which opened four years before DC’s legendary Shoo’s and only 14 years after the capitol’s Hancock’s. Abraham Lincoln drank beer at McSorley’s and so will you—it’s all they have. Bring cash, no credit cards are accepted.
One of the most eccentric cocktail bars in America, Paulius Nasvytis’s pioneering establishment offers precision-made, if expensive, cocktails, excellent live jazz and pure, 1950s-style class.
Down in the postapocalyptic industrial “Flats,” through which the meandering Cuyahoga River oozes its way to Lake Erie, the Harbor Inn is an oasis of unpretentious drinking.
All this place has to offer is huge tankards of impeccably fresh—and refreshing—German beers and platters of smoked meats, housemade sausages and schnitzels the size of airplane wings.
It might take a while to get into this semisecret Chinatown bar, but the cocktails, which offer a rare balance of creativity and subtle execution, are worth the wait. Note: It’s cash only and there is no phone number.
If you absolutely had to find one DC bar where you might stumble upon an actual sitting congressperson tucked away in a dark corner, this dark and discreet room, in the basement of the Hay-Adams Hotel, would be the place to start.
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